


Pulse

by ThatDarnLakeSiren



Series: Red and Blue (Blood) Sirens [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: (I dunno specifics sorry), ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), Android, Androids, Angst, Autism, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff, Mention of injuries, Police-related stuff like the game, Slight OOC, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-02-10 18:19:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18665809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDarnLakeSiren/pseuds/ThatDarnLakeSiren
Summary: “Humans and androids are not so different... we both have a pulse, and mine is strong.”—————When a young woman, Jaiden Airheart, comes to Lt. Anderson and his partner Conner with a plea for help, neither are sure what to expect. But it leads to a case of deviancy before the revolution began and a wild goose chase to find the android.Meanwhile, Gavin Reed finds himself struggling to keep a rather strange individual alive. A feat made increasingly difficult by the fact that the individual, a woman named Kaitla, isn’t particularly interested in staying alive.





	1. Software Instability

**Author's Note:**

> I put it in the tags but I’ll say it again here; there are themes of suicide, and suicidal thoughts in this story. If that is triggering to you, then don’t read!

  ~~ _(Let’s go in the garden...)_~~

* * *

Kaden stood at the street corner, waiting for the lights to turn so himself and his charge could cross. He was walking around with Miss Jaiden Airheart, helping with shopping and socialization. The young woman in question stood beside him, keeping her hands to herself per the androids “request”. Really, the actions and words were meant to help Jaiden become more independent, so she could function without assistance one day. 

Not holding hands was perhaps a small, but necessary first step, no matter how uncomfortable and fidgety it was making his charge at the moment.

The lights turned and Kaden began to cross, his pace brisk, but unhurried. He heard a car approaching from the side, but thought nothing of it; it would stop, the light was red, and they had the right of way. 

The car did not stop. He heard the revving of an engine and squeal of rubber against concrete, and he hit the ground forcefully. There was a screech of brakes, a cry of pain that cut off abruptly, and Kaden realized he was on his hands and knees, that he hadn’t been hit by the car, he’d been shoved—

He sat up and twisted around, and felt, something, something that wasn’t supposed to be in his programming. His charge, Jaiden, was sprawled out on the ground, motionless. There was red, red spreading, everywhere, from Jaiden. And it wasn’t stopping.

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS ^75%]**

With a cry of his own, Kaden scrambled over, tentatively touching the injured human. 

“Jaiden? Jaiden!” He moved, lightly touching the humans face. His LED was a glaring red, flickering yellow as he dug through his databases, searching for something, anything that could help.

**[WARNING: SOFTWARE INSTABILITY]**

He couldn’t explain the panic in his systems, the sudden fear and rush of... of emotions, for this person. This person that was bleeding, _dying_ , all because—

...because Kaden had been shoved out of the way. Jaiden sacrificed herself, for Kaden. Put herself in harms way, when the humans life was so, so much more important than any androids—

It didn’t make any sense. 

**_[ * D E V I A N C Y  U N L O C K E D * ]_ **

“Fuck off, ya plastic prick!” The noise was loud in his ears, and hands were on his shoulders, pulling him away. He struggled briefly, but he was quickly overpowered, picked up and thrown to the ground. 

“My charge needs help—she’s been hit!” Kaden snapped, slowly staggering to his feet. His vision was wavering and his balance was off. The impact with the ground had hurt, more than anything had ever hurt before. 

The human—male, 5 foot 9, Caucasian—scoffed and strode over, slugging Kaden in the gut, without warning. The blow had him gasping, and he was shoved to the ground and kicked, “Bullshit—you shoved her into harms way, _bitch_.” The man was slurring his words—“intoxicated” was added to Kaden’s observations—and swaying slightly. 

Gasping for breath, Kaden kicked out, hard, against the mans’ shin; he swore and fell to one knee, and Kaden took the opportunity to lurch to his feet and run.

Pausing in an alley half a block away, Kaden turned back, gaze trailing over the man, who was now kneeling next to Jaiden—a flare of fury and protectiveness rose, sending his processor reeling—with a phone to his ear. Most likely scenario, he was calling 911. 

Unwilling to take chances, Kaden dialed the number himself, waiting for someone to pick up, “Nine One One, what’s your emergency?”

“My charge—... my friend has just been hit by a drunk driver. We’re at the corner of W. Virginia and Robin Avenue.” Kaden replied, peering at the man in question. “He... assaulted me.” He adds, “Please, hurry! There’s... there’s so much... blood...” 

Cold spread through his thirium lines like ice, making his limbs heavy and perception fuzzy. His breathing caught and staggered to a stop, shutting off his cooling function. He shouldn’t be this cold, he shouldn’t be feeling ice spreading through him, freezing him, immobilizing him in place, unable to move. 

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS ^88%]**

**[POSSIBILITY OF SELF DESTRUCTION: 92%]**

**[RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION: SEEK CALMER ENVIRONMENT]**

Distantly, he heard, “Sir? Sir! Are you still there? Help is on the way. Just breathe, sir—“ 

He cut the call, pressing a hand to his chest as his thirium pump beat faster and faster, warnings and errors messages popping up all over his vision, but he could hardly see them; Thirium was leaking from his nose, and he weakly pressed a hand against it, staring down at his blue-and-red smeared hand. 

Numb, he turned and trudged down the alley. The ice that flooded his thirium lines suddenly burst, electric; filled with manic energy, Kaden broke out into a hard run, tears streaming down his cheeks.

* * *

  ~~ _(You’ll find something waiting...)_~~

* * *

Conner noticed the young woman long before his partner had. The woman was speaking with another officer, posture tense, fidgeting with something in her hands. She wore a thick jacket, despite the summer heat that blazed outside, her dark hair pulled back into a messy braid.

She was directed over towards Hank and Conner, and she turned, rocking on her heels. Her stress levels were fairly high, Conner judged, and after a quick search through the databases pulled up a name and other information.

Jaiden Airheart, 23 years old, Japanese-American, diagnosed with ASD and ADHD when she was ten years of age, currently living alone. Further analyzing Miss Airheart as she shuffled over, he determined that she was anxious in the present environment, and the constant movement of her hands was indicative of searching for something to ease that anxiety and her overall stress.

“H-hello? You are... are Lieutenant Anderson and Mr. C-Conner?” She asked, meeting Conner’s eyes and quickly looking away, rocking slightly on her heels. 

“That would be correct.” Conner replied, smiling a little to try and help ease her stress. 

“Mr. Fowler... Chief Fowler, he said that... that I should come talk... come talk to you both...” she continued, hand slipping into her pocket. She removed a folded piece of paper, carefully unfolded it, and offered it to the pair of officers. “It’s... it’s about my friend, Kaden. He is an android... something, h-happened, several months ago... b-b-before the revolution.” 

She stuttered to a stop, a soft, just-perceptible whine leaving her throat. Conner didn’t comment on it, instead looking over the paper as Lt. Anderson attempted to engage Ms. Airheart in further conversation, trying to pry further details from her. 

The paper was primarily made up of a printed photograph, featuring Ms. Airheart and an android, presumably Kaden. The android was wearing an orange, fox-themed beanie and smiling slightly, an arm wrapped around Ms. Airheart’s shoulders as she grinned wide, a similar, cat-themed beanie pulled over her head.

The android, a model AP700, designed for domestic work, such as cooking, cleaning, and looking after small children. According to his records, Miss Airheart was neither married nor had any children, but given her mental disabilities, it was more likely that she needed assistance in day-to-day life.

Below the actual photograph were lines and lines of text, written in a hurried, but nice script. Details about what happened, dating to about five months ago. Just three weeks and two days before the android revolution had kicked off.

_“My name is Jaiden Airheart. A few months ago, before the revolution, I was out and about with my friend, and Android named Kaden. We were crossing the street, but I noticed a car rev it’s engines and charge at us. I pushed Kaden out of the way, but was hit myself._

_I don’t remember what happened after, but according to the nasty fellow who tried to run my friend over, Kaden pushed me into the street, attacked him and ran away. This was the story I was told, but I don’t believe them. I saw it so clearly. The look in his eyes, the anger. He wanted to run my friend over, and would have succeeded if I hadn’t pushed him out of the way._

_I’ve only recently recovered, and I’m still struggling. Still recovering. I can’t look for him on my own. I’m not sure where to start looking. But I just know he’s alive... I just know it. Could you please look for him? I’m jotting any other information that may help you find him on the back. His model, where the hit-and-run happened._

_Thank you for taking time out of your day to help me find him. I really appreciate it.”_

He flipped the page over, and scanned over other, hastily-written details, such as where Kaden had originally run away, what he preferred —apparently he liked foxes and enjoyed listening video-game sound tracks— which was, all in all, a little strange for an android that wasn’t a deviant... then again, it was possible to have that sort of preference even before deviancy occurred. 

Conner sat back and considered the letter. The tone read as sincere and concerned. Even if this was some sort of trick or it turned out Ms. Airheart abused Kaden, he didn’t necessarily need to tell her if they managed to find him. 

“We’ll take the case.” Conner interjected, cutting off Hank and Ms. Airheart’s conversation. 

She lit up, hopeful, while Hank glanced at Conner, skeptical, but he didn’t contradict his partner. 

“If you could give us your number, we’ll be sure to keep in touch.” 

“Of course!” She dug her phone out of her pocket and opened it up, scribbling down the number on the provided sticky note. “Thank you so much, sirs!” She offered a sloppy salute, smiling, relieved, and walked away. 

Hank waited until she was out of earshot to say, “I hardly got anything from talking to her.” 

“Prior to the revolution, Ms. Airheart owned an android, model AP700, whom she claims to be friends with, despite him only becoming deviant after her accident. She is worried for him, and wants us to find him.” Conner replied. 

“Yeah? And what about Ms. Airheart?” Hank pressed; her stuttering, refusal to make eye contact, the way her gaze wandered constantly, and all the shifting and fidgeting, were all signs that she was lying. 

Picking up on what lay unsaid, Conner replies, “She has ASD and ADHD, Lieutenant. This causes her to struggle in social environments, specifically, this could mean eye contact is extremely uncomfortable for her, as well as having trouble reading body language or expressions, and having sensory issues, such as overstimulation due to light or noise.“

”Mhm.” Lt. Anderson hummed in reply, thinking over the androids response. He nodded, and stood, tilting his head at the paper. Conner handed it over and stood as well, pulling his coin from his pocket, flipping and shifting it between his fingers.

“Even if what she claims is true, how are we supposed to locate the missing android?” Hank asks, setting the paper aside to be filed away later.

”There’s a possibility that Kaden found his way to Jericho. I don’t remember specifically seeing him at any point during the revolution, but I’ll ask Markus and the others to spread the word. Meanwhile, we should check out where the accident took place. There might be something that could point us towards where Kaden went.” 

“It’s a pretty slim chance that he’s still in the city, Con.” Hank points out. “He could halfway across the world.” 

“We have to at least try, don’t we, Lieutenant?” Conner replied, smiling a hint. 

“Suppose so.” Hank grunted, lightly shoving him as he passed.

* * *

~~_(...Right there where you left it...)_ ~~

* * *

Curled over himself in an alley, ignoring the splash of rain against his artificial hair, Kaden struggled inwardly with himself. He felt like he was suffocating, all the air being squeezed from his chest. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t find the air, he knew logically that he didn’t need air but he couldn’t find the god-damn air!!

His thirium pump beat irregularly, too-fast and hard, he clutched at his chest, feeling as though it was going to stutter right out. Unbidden, a memory file opened, showcasing the horrible event over and over. A screech of brakes, a shout, colliding with the ground, red, red, red on the ground, his charge, Jaiden, just lying there...

The memory file played over and over, looping, and he sobbed, clutching himself even tighter.

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS ^80%]**

**[PLEASE SEEK CALMER ENVIRONMENT]**

_Why?!_ Why had Jaiden pushed him?! He was an android, he was replaceable, she was a human, she was much more valuable than he was, why had she done it?! He couldn’t fathom the answers.

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS ^87%]**

“Calm down, calm down, _just calm down_ —“

“Hey uh... Ralph wants to know if you’re alright?”

Kaden started, and looked up, into the concerned eyes of a stranger. Well, uh, eye at least. 

The android crouching before Kaden had blonde hair and a poncho tied about their shoulders, but more notably, was the blue scarring on their face and corrupting their left eye.

“Ralph is worried about you...” the android reached out towards Kaden’s LED, and he shifted away, raising his hand to stay the other androids motion. He tensed when he realized the blonde-haired android had a pretty large knife clutched in their hand.

”D-don’t... I...” Kaden struggled to find the words.

“Ralph doesn’t want to hurt you... Ralph is just concerned... you are shivering and going to do the head-smashing soon...” the android —“Ralph”— tittered nervously. “Ralph knows where a safe place is... come with Ralph, to Ralph’s home?” The strange android held out his hand, a soft frown tugging at his features. 

Kaden stared at him, and accepted the hand before he could think on it at all. Ralph pulled him to his feet, steadying him when he stumbled. The damaged android smiled, LED a calming blue. He nodded and lightly pulled Kaden along, murmuring for him to be quiet so the humans wouldn’t hear them. 

The AP700 didn’t fight him, keeping his head down as they went. He didn’t pay much mind to his surroundings, focusing on the pressure on his hand as Ralph clutched it, the chill and slither of rain as it crawled down his back, the thump and splash of their footsteps. 

Tactile, temperature, auditory sensations; so much more intense, since what had happened... since this ‘deviancy’ had overtaken his programming. Focusing on it now, ignoring the churning emotions and clips of memory that would play without his consent, it helped.

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS 72v]**

Slowly, he felt himself calm down. Slowly, he felt the heaviness in his limbs fade away. Slowly, his breathing returned to normal and his thirium pump stopped beating so harshly. 

He barely registered when Ralph ushered him through a doorway out of the rain, nor when a molding blanket was pushed over his shoulders. Ralph fussed over him for a few minutes, inviting him to stay, telling him to dry off, before scurrying off to look for dry clothes.

Kaden accepted the care in silence, pressing his back to a wall by a boarded-up window. He listened to the noise of the rain, and breathed. 

* * *

  ~~ _(Lying upside down...)_~~

* * *

Just... just breathe... just breathe, and think of happier memories... just breath...

**[Opening Memory Files...]**

**[Searching...]**

**[Memory File Found]**

**[Playing Memory File: “Winter Wear, September 23rd, 20XX”]**

_“Kaden, what do you think of this hat?” Jaiden shoved a beanie into his face, causing him to blink and focus on her._

_“It is made of cotton, and the pattern resembles the American Badger—“_

_“No no no, not that!” She laughed a little, shaking her head at his initial reply. “Do you like it, is what I meant? Compared to this one?” She held up a second beanie, this one orange with white and black, with two small triangles of fabric on top, resembling ears. A fox, or meant to emulate one._

_She pushed both beanie’s into his hands, staring at him expectantly. ‘_ Androids can’t have favorites, Jaiden.’ _He held back the words, considering his socialization program. He had to encourage her, and interact with her as normally as possible._

_**[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY]** _

_“I prefer this one.” He replies, after a moment, lowering her hands as she nodded, grinning at him widely as she snatched both beanies from his hands._

_The fox beanie went into the basket, alongside a soft black one that resembled a cat. The badger one was flung carelessly against the neatly folded pile. Kaden cast it a look of disdain, disliking the untidiness of it, but it wasn’t his mess to take care of, so he simply trailed after Jaiden as she tugged at his arm, leading them towards the checkout._

_As they left the store, she stopped him. Pulling the tags out —an action he recommended they wait on, as using scissors at him was far less likely to damage the product— Jaiden shoved the cat beanie onto her head. She tugged it off, then pulled it back on more carefully, fussing over the ears._

_Then, she turned to Kaden, and stretched up on her tiptoes to pull the fox hat over his head. It fit well, and it was soft against his skin projection. He smiled a little, despite himself, and didn’t fight Jaiden when she pulled him over, holding up her phone to take a photo of them._

_”This is gonna be a good photo for sure! You always look so...”_

_“Neutral? Androids don’t feel emotions, Jaiden.”_

_Jaiden looked up at him, and scoffed, gently poking his side, “Just smile for the camera, Kaden! Let me be happy for both of us if you’re too stubborn too.”_

_Kaden relented and smiled again. If he were capable, he would be appreciative of the gift. Even if he couldn’t, he could still fake it, at least. All per his programming._

_He had known that he was different from other androids of similar model, well before he had met miss Jaiden. His previous owner, a programmer for Cyberlife, had written and uploaded new programs into his systems. There programs were meant to help him take care of Jaiden, and help her better fit into society. The end goal was helping her learn to live independently, without his or anyone else’s assistance._

_Miss Jaiden has a mental disorder known as “Autism Spectrum Disorder”, and that meant she behaved differently from the majority. She was also sensitive to various stimuli and struggled under certain—_

_“Hey, Kaden!” He blinked, and looked down at Jaiden. Her hand was on his arm, and she was worried._

_“I am fine.”_

_“Lost in thought again?”_

_Close enough to it. He nodded. She smiled, relieved, and tugged at his hand, pulling him further down the street._

_“Com’on then! It could close before we get there—“_

_“The cafe the next block over will not close for the next couple of hours—“_

_”Forget that noise! We’re going to the ice cream parlor.”_

_Kaden sighed, and rolled his eyes, voicing, “It is only going to get colder, Jaiden. Consuming something cold will only make you colder in the long run.”_

_“I’ll be fine!” She insisted. “Besides, it’s gonna be winter soon; I gotta get this in while I still can!”_

_He didn’t bother trying to contradict her, instead allowing her to drag him along. She turned her head to smile at him. And he smiled back._

**[END OF FILE]**


	2. And Yet Our Hearts Keep Beating

_“Help me!”_

_Kaden stood, ramrod straight, straining to move, but he felt frozen in place. His charge, Jaiden, was clinging to the railing of the fire escape outside the third story window of her apartment. A fall of that measure could be deadly to a human, and at the least the damage would be very severe and require—_

_“ **Help me!!** ” She screamed, sobbing. “Kaden, help me! I-I can’t hold on!” She mewled and whined, her fingers slipping one by one. _

_He tried to move, but his thirium lines were coated in ice and his movements were sluggish. He scrambled across the room, and it felt like treading through water. He reached the window, only one leg over the sill, body near horizontal, fingers stretching, stretching for her arms._

__“H-h-h-help me!—“_ _

_He met her tear-filled eyes, terror trembling off of her. His ventilation systems, his lungs as it were, were heaving with every breath, his thirium pump beating far too hard, much harder than necessary. He almost had her, his fingers half an inch from her wrists, he almost—_

krkrkrkra -  _ **B O O M!**_

Kaden jolted to attention, a crackling boom momentarily overwhelming his focus. The white noise of heavy rain reached his ears, a scent, almost a taste of freshness cutting through the dusty sense of the abandoned warehouse. The whole area lit up with bright, bright light from outside, followed by another, deafening **_B O O M !!_**

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS ^30%]**

He checked his internal clock—2:14 AM. Kaden slowly stood, looking around to confirm his surroundings, wiping cleaning fluid from his optical units. He sucked in a deep breath, feeling his ventilation components swell, held the air, and then released it slowly. He repeated the action a couple of times, managing to get them working at the optimal level. His thirium pump was still beating harshly, but it too was slowing back down to optimal levels.

Was that... a nightmare? It had to be... he ran a diagnostic on his systems, but nothing was wrong with his processors. He chalked up the strange not-memory to being deviant and shoved the whole thing to the back of his head. His diagnostic did reveal minor damage to his thirium reservoir, though another night’s worth of self-repair would fix that easily enough. It had already fixed the minor thirium leak that had come from his nose, so that was good.

He looked around, frowning softly. Something felt... off. Like, something had fallen out of place, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it... He vaguely recalled someone leading him here... another android, named... Ralph, right? He didn’t see him anywhe—

“H-h-help...!” 

The rasping cry jolted him into action; he was skidding through the doorway before he realized he was moving, scanning the room at a rapid rate. He found Ralph curled up at the base of the stairs, his ventilation components heaving as he clutched at his chest.

He was crying, looking up as Kaden dropped beside him. “Ralph! What’s wrong?” Kaden gently touched the androids shoulder, trying to pull him up and into his hold, trying to comfort him, partly habit and partly protocol. He froze, sucking in a sharp breath; this wasn’t Jaiden, _this wasn’t Jaiden_ , but this was so familiar because he’d done the very same thing for his charge—

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS ^45%]**

“Ralph, what’s wrong?” He forced the words out, almost physically wrangling back thoughts of his charge and shoving them in a box before pushing the whole mess to the back of his mind. He couldn’t help Ralph if he lost all control of himself. He had to stay focused.

Ralph looked up at him, pain echoing in his eyes, and grasped weakly at Kaden’s hand, whining. Kaden grit his teeth as they interfaced, feeling a phantom rush of pressure and pain on his chest. Trying to push away the ice that began to flood his thirium lines and push away the memory file threatening to play across their link, he began to hum softly instead as he preformed a diagnostic on the gardener. 

“Shadows all around you, as you surface from the dark. Emerging from the gentle grip, of nights’ unfolding arms,” his other hand ran through Ralph’s hair, squashing down everything that might impede him, and trying to offer comfort the only way he knew how.

 **[WARNING: THIRIUM PUMP DAMAGED** **]  
**

**[REPLACEMENT ADVISED]**

****[SHUTDOWN IMMINENT 19:45:09]** **

**[PLEASE CONTACT CYBERLIFE FOR REPAIRS]**

“Darkness, darkness, everywhere, do you feel alone? The subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone,” he shook his head slightly, pulling away from his connection with Ralph. He didn’t want to accidentally transfer something that would stress them both out, so he just held the android tighter, continuing to sing as he formulated a plan,

”You don’t see what you possess; a beauty, calm and clear. It floods the night and blurs the darkness, like a chandelier.”

**[PROBLEM: RALPH REQUIRES A NEW THIRIUM PUMP]**

“All the light that you possess, is skewed by lakes and seas. The shattered surface, so imperfect, is all that you believe.”

**[OBSTACLES?: NO MONEY, CAN’T BRING HIM IN TO CYBERLIFE]**

He hummed through the next few lines, his voice a gentle croon. Ralph was shaking softly in his arms, and he held him tight, eyes slipping closed. He grimaced, digging through everything he knew and tried to come up with a plan, however spontaneous or strange it initially sounded. 

**[SOLUTION: SEARCH FOR REPLACEMENT IN ANDROID LANDFILL]**

”I will bring a mirror, so silver and so exact.” 

He shied away from the thought of going to what was essentially an android graveyard. Logically, it made sense; it would be so much easier to avoid detection from humans, but he couldn’t handle that sort of mental or emotional strain. Not now and... maybe not ever. ( _He’d run mental circles around the concept humans held of death and the afterlife, he didn’t want to deal with his own... peoples_ )

“So precise and so pristine, a perfect pane of glass.” 

**[SOLUTION: 1) STEAL PARTS FROM CYBERLIFE]**

”I will set the mirror up, to face the blackened sky.”

**[SOLUTION: 2) LEAVE RALPH BEHIND]**

His ventilation components stuttered, and his voice briefly failed him. Leave Ralph behind? Logically, he knew why it was a viable option; he’d barely met the guy yesterday, didn’t know him, and from their brief interactions he could tell the guy was unstable mentally. Trying to fix him would put Kaden at risk of being found, and he didn’t want to give up his newfound freedom.

But at the same time... it just felt so, so wrong. ( _He didn’t want anyone else to die._ )

Logically, the reasoning to leave Ralph behind, let him shutdown, was completely sound. But the thought of leaving Ralph behind, leaving him to shutdown, alone, in this empty warehouse, left a heavy, dropping weight in the center of his thirium reservoir, a sense of ice flooding his lines. 

It was completely irrational, but, he reflected, being deviant was liking going to bring instances like this. It was... it was part of being human; a fact he knew all too well. ( _His charge, full of random ideas, ideas that came out of nowhere, sometimes leading to nowhere but other times catapulting her into something zany and fun—and he was always dragged along for the ride_ )

A small part of his vision popped up with a memory file, and he immediately tore it down, suspending and delaying it before it could completely overwhelm him. He was dismayed and somewhat distressed to find he couldn’t completely stop it from happening, but quickly redirected his attention to the task at hand.

**[SOLUTION: LEAVE RALPH BEHIND]**

~~**_[S0LUT!0N: L3AV3 R@LPH B3H!ND]_ ** ~~

He tore apart the ‘option’ and made sure nothing so horrendous would turn up in his future calculations ever again, his thoughts having run through the whole matter in a matter of milliseconds.

** [SOLUTION: STEAL PARTS FROM CYBERLIFE] **

”You will see your beauty every, moment that you rise.” He hummed out the songs finished, mind already racing ahead, locating the nearest store and working out possible plans. He gently squeezed Ralph tighter, and firmly grasped his hand, interfacing with him again. “Ralph...”

_{AP700~(Kaden)—I’m going to find you a replacement part and some thirium, okay? I’ll be back. I promise.}_

_{WR600~(Ralph)—Promise Ralph you’ll come back?}_

_{AP700~(Kaden)—I promise. I’ll maintain the connection; just call me if you need my help.}_

_{WR600~(Ralph)—Okay.}_

 Gently, Kaden picked the gardener up and carried away from the stairs. He set the WR600 down by a stack of rotting wooden boxes, hoping it would help keep off the draft. Spotting a tarp nearby, he snagged it and draped it over Ralph for good measure. 

“I’ll be back.” He promised aloud, processors spinning at how familiar this situation felt—

**[MEMORY LOG FILE OPENED: 2035, JANUARY 3RD, “SICK DAY”]**

_Jaiden coughed and curled up further into the couch. Her eyes were glazed over, staring at the tv without really processing it. One of her favorite movies was playing,_ Lilo and Stitch _, but she was hardly reacting to it._

_She really was feeling miserable, then... Kaden held back a sigh, and set the bowl of soup down on the coffee table before curling up beside her on the couch. She shuffled over and curled up against him, prompting him to drape his arm around her shoulders._

_“You need to eat—“_

_”Not hungry.”_

_“... please? Just a little?” He asked, glancing down at her._

_She didn’t meet his gaze, but finally sighed and sat up. He poked and prodded at her whenever she paused in her eating for longer than a minute, but despite her earlier claims, she’d soon eaten every scrap._

_She flopped back on the couch, throwing off the blankets, muttering, “Too hot.”_

_“Hot damn.” The words slipped out, unbidden, but she giggled, and he smiled slightly, a sense of satisfaction flooding his systems. He was keeping her fed, medicated and happy. She’d pull through just fine._

_Thirty minutes later, she’d fallen asleep. He turned the movie down low, so as not to disturb her, and moved to clean up the dirty bowl. Kaden paused, however, when he noticed she was shivering. He instead moved to pull the blankets back over her, but the action unfortunately roused her._

_”Kaden?” She murmured, sleepy._

”-Hey! H-hey!”

Jolting back into the present, Kaden met Ralph’s gaze. Despite the pain the gardening android must have been in, he seemed extremely concerned.

”I’m good.” He rasped, wincing at the metallic reverb in his voice.

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS ^51%]**

“I’m good.” He repeated again. He stood and made for the door, practically running out into the rain. Within thirty minutes, he’d found the store. He stood across the street, halfway up the block, and considered his options. There didn’t seem to be anyone around, aside from maybe androids acting as security.

The store wouldn’t be open until eight, roughly five hours from now. And there wouldn’t be any humans for four and half hours. He only had limited time to find a way in, grab the necessary parts, and get out. 

He connected to the internet and checked the maps again, and quickly realized there was an alley with some odd twists and turns. He made his way back there, checking for some sort of way in. The backdoor was locked, as expected, and there weren’t any windows...

He paced outside the door, trying to think, when he noticed a window that was on the second story. He couldn't tell if it could open or if it would be alarmed, but it was his best bet at the moment. Glancing around, he started tugging and straining on a nearby dumpster, and managed to get it under the window. It was still a longshot, but it was his best bet. He decided to up his chances further by grabbing a nearby rock to smash the window, if need be. Scrambling scrambling up on his new perch got him closer, but not close enough to reach the sill. He glanced at the lid, and ran a nervous hand through his hair; it wasn't likely to work, but he was out of ideas and may as well try, right?

Pulling open one of lids, he leaned it against the buildings side, and in one fluid motion, hopped up onto it. It creaked under his weight, but he'd already smashed the window open with his rock.

It wasn’t enough for him to squeeze inside, but it was enough to reach in and open it from the inside it. He scrambled his way up and over the sill in, listening carefully, but no alarms went off, and he couldn’t hear anybody nearby.

He slunk further inside, and found his way to storage. He was faced, unfortunately, with security and a code he didn’t know, but he soon found a decent work around in the form of the ventilation system for the building. It was a tight fit, but he managed to squirm his way through and fall into a clumsy heap on the other side. 

He quickly moved through the room, grabbing a box with the needed part, and headed for the door. Thankfully, he didn’t need a code to get _out_ , and was making his way through the backrooms of the store, dodging security androids. He found a backpack, looked like it’d been left behind some human, and dropped the box in after dumping out the original contents. 

He searched awhile longer, until he located where they kept the thirium. He scooped up several bottles and dumped them in the bag as well; couldn’t hurt, afterall, and it could very well help. 

He checked his internal clock—3:20 AM—and made for the back entrance. He had plenty of time to get back before Ralph shutdown. There was no risk of a human finding him— 

Without warning, sirens wailed outside, startling the AP700 so badly he practically fell over. Police? How?! He didn’t have an answer and didn’t waste any time. Tightening the straps on the bag, he bolted for the backdoor. It slammed against the wall as he looked back and forth quickly. Spotting someone rounding the corner, he bolted in the opposite direction.

“POLICE, FREEZE!!” 

He kept moving, but a thunderous noise, like what had woken him this morning, erupted behind him just as something slammed into him and knocked him over. His hands grasping, feet scrabbling, he was up in moments, dismissing the warnings and error messages that clouded his vision.

There was fear coiling around his artificial lungs and hanging, cold and unnatural, at the back of his throat. He had been afraid for others, like Jaiden and Ralph, but this was different. There was no ice creeping its way through his thirium lines or a pounding ache in his chest. This awful serpent, squeezing tight and choking him, being fearful for his own life... this was a new beast. And he didn’t like it one bit.

He squeezed his eyes shut tight and then opened them; another shot rang out and he dodged clumsily, thirium dripping down his arm and shoulder. He rounded the corner and fled, booking it across a street, narrowly avoiding getting run over, but he hardly noticed.

He just kept running, running, until he’d left all their noise and ruckus behind. Even then, he didn’t stop, driven on by some unknown force. He only slowed when heaviness crept through his limbs and an error in his gyroscope sent him reeling with dizziness. 

Kaden slowed, and finally, came to a staggering stop. He looked around, blinking away error messages, and tried to take stock of his surroundings. Rundown buildings, a convenience store nearby, a bus stop... his feet had led him back to Ralph’s area. 

He glanced at his shoulder and reached up a tentative hand to it, eyes widening in disbelief. He lightly touched the wound itself and screamed, knees buckling from the unexpected sensation. 

Pain. He was in pain. This... fuck, _fuck_ , this is what pain was? It was, it was... so intense, unpleasant, it sent his processors reeling and he couldn’t process anything else.

“Fuck.” He muttered aloud, wheezing softly. Slowly, he curled over on his side, just breathing for a long minute. 

Then, he forced himself to his feet, nearly falling over as his head spun. “ _Fuck_.” He repeated, pressing a blue-stained hand to his forehead. This wasn’t good. 

**[TASK: STOP THIRIUM LEAK]**

**[ ~~ _TASK: STOP THIRIUM LEAK_~~ ]**

**[ _T-TAS-AS-SK: FI-I-IND RA-AL-ALPH_ ]**

**[ TASK: FIND RALPH]**

**[TASK: REPLACE RALPH’S THIRIUM PUMP]**

 The priorities swarmed his vision and he moved to follow, struggling to keep his feet under him as the world spun at dizzying angles.

**[WARNING: THIRIUM SUPPLY BELOW 50%]**

He frowned softly, brows furrowing together as red walls closed in around him. Directives created by his programming, guiding him to help, to help someone else, but not himself. Putting his own needs second.

His frown deepened; he could barely stand, let alone walk; he wouldn’t be able to help Ralph in his current state. If he couldn’t help himself he couldn’t help Ralph... finding the loophole, the red walls flickered and vanished, new prompts appearing in his field of vision,

**[TASK: STOP THIRUM LEAK]**

**[TASK: HELP RALPH]**

Kaden didn’t even acknowledge the directives, instead stumbling his way down an alley, seeking shelter from the rain. He had to stop the thirium leak, but he wasn’t sure how. He knew plenty about how his own body worked, but none of the tools needed to deal with it, but he had to try _something_...

He sat himself down in a doorway, swinging the bag into his lap, but a strange noise distracted him. A rustling from within the bag. Intrigued, he prodded at one of the pockets, and eventually fished out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. Objects he’d neglected to remove from the bag... but it gave him an idea.

He was mostly made of plastic, afterall... and when introduced to extreme heat... plastic could _melt_.

He ran a self-diagnostic as he peeled off his coat and shirt. It consisted of two clean holes, the bullet had gone straight through. A major Thirium line had been nicked, and that was what he needed to address first. Pulling out the lighter he'd inadvertently stolen and a cigarette, he stilled, taking a breath, then lit it.

The flame sputtered to life, and the cigarette burned steadily, a low smolder that held heat... hopefully enough. 

Twisting slightly, he jammed the thing through the hole in his shoulder, hopefully against the nicked line—he _screamed_ as it seared through him, flinging the source of pain away. He choked and sputtered and sobbed, clutching his shoulder around the wound, optical fluid leaking from his eyes. 

He’d been expecting the pain, but it still overwhelmed him... He slumped back against the door, utterly exhausted. Kaden forced himself to run another self-diagnostic, and sobbed again, this time in relief; the thirium line had been cauterized, and the holes weren't going to compromise anything. He could seal those shut later... 

**[WARNING: THIRIUM LEVELS BELOW OPTIMAL]**

**[WARNING: CHASSIS BREACHED IN RIGHT ARM]**

**[PLEASE CONTACT CYBERLIFE FOR REPAIRS]**

Relenting, Kaden dug out a bottle of thirium and raised it to his lips, gulping down the cool liquid, relief flooding him. He reclined where he was for several long minutes, replenishing his thirium levels and then some. Listening to the rain, watching the sky lighten... it felt... calm, almost peaceful, especially compared to all he had done in the last several hours. 

His thirium pump suddenly twinged, almost squeezing in on itself; he gasped, curling inwards around his chest, hands flying up to his bare chest. What had happened? What was wrong? 

**[DATE: OCTOBER 30th, 2038]**

**[MEMORY LOGS: “Unnamed folder”, OCTOBER 29th, 2038]**

Kaden’s breathing stuttered, ice flooding his thirium lines. He felt a flicker of numbness, and shutdown the memory file with a shout, mechanical reverb tainting his voice. ( _It hadn’t even been twenty-fours since she’d died—he’d already forgotten—everything was different now_ )

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS ^76%]**

He held his head in his hands, and with a wheeze, staggered to his feet and collapsed in the rain, letting the combination of sensations run over him. It soaked through already-damp hair, trickling down his skin projection. 

The deep ache in his chest slowly subsided, the ice in his thirium lines slowly thawed and left.

An itch ran through his shoulder, and he glanced at it absently, slowly shifting until he was no longer hunched over himself. The holes in his shoulder was still there; water was leaking in. His skin projection wasn’t closing up properly around the holes, either...

**[WARNING: STRESS LEVELS v64%]**

Kaden heaved in a breath, then another, and timestamped this present moment, and the next several following,

**[MEMORY LOG: “Calm in the Storm”, OCTOBER 30th, 2038]**

For several minutes, he kneeled there, creating memories that would, hopefully, help calm him in the future.

**[STRESS LEVELS v43%]**

He released a soft sigh, and slowly stood. He meandered back towards the stolen pack and discarded shirt and coat. He pulled the shirt back on but hesitated over the coat. He didn’t technically need it, he took much longer than humans did to reach critically low internal temperatures. It would only serve to out him as an android, as well.

He held it in his hands, staring at it, then folded it neatly and set it on the steps. Grabbing the backpack, he swung it over his shoulders and started walking. Kaden subtly checked his appearance as he went; there were still traces of thirium on him, but it wasn’t anything a human would be able to see.

He reached Ralph’s home without incident and immediately got to work. Ralph, despite the pain he was in, greeted him with warmth and relief. 

“I got the pump, Ralph.” He informed the gardener, gently helping him remove his poncho and coat. “And I nabbed some fresh thirium, too.”

”Why are you covered in thirium?” The gardener asked softly, eyes widening as he got a good look at Kaden. 

“That’s not important right now.” He insisted; Kaden didn’t want to raise Ralph’s stress levels anymore than was necessary. “Let’s just take care of you right now, alright?”

Kaden retrieved the box and gently unpackaged the new thirium pump. He hoped this would work... this _had_ to work. His hand hovered over Ralph’s chassis, fingers ghosting over the panel that protected his thirium pump.

”Ready?” He nearly whispered. 

_{WR600~(Ralph)—Ralph is ready.}_

Kaden took in a breath and pushed the panel aside. His fingers closed over the active thirium pump, felt it stutter off-rhythm beneath his fingers, and twisted it free. Ralph gasped, his fingers raised to claw at his chest, but Kaden forced him to lay back down, already trying to slot the new pump into place, muttering,

”Sh, sh, it’s okay, it’s okay, the new one’s in, alright? You’re alright, it’s alright, everything is going to be alright—“ 

The new pump slotted in and Ralph fell back to the ground with a dull _thud_ , taking in gasping breaths. Thirium had welled up when the old, damaged pump had been removed, staining Kaden’s fingers, dripping to the ground.

Kaden gently took Ralph’s hand, skin projection pulling away as the pair of them interfaced. He ran a diagnostic on Ralph, and felt relief flood him when they came back clear; there was no more risk of shutdown, the little thirium Ralph had lost hadn’t dropped him into dangerous levels.

He released a soft sigh of relief, brushing his hands off on his pants. He pulled Ralph’s poncho over the gardener, then the tarp out of habit. 

Ralph had entered rest mode... Kaden didn’t entirely blame him... he must feel so relieved, to finally be able to breathe right and not be in pain...

How long had Ralph been hiding here? In pain, burns on his face and arms, his thirium pump damaged? How long had he... been like this? 

Kaden had felt it, when they interfaced before. Something that didn’t lie in other androids codes. His thoughts turned to the day before, and he suck in a sharp breath through his teeth, and immediately pushed the memory file away, trying and failing to tear it apart.

It hurt, it hurt so badly, and he couldn’t figure out why. But that moment had been the catalyst... feeling emotions, thinking and acting illogically... being deviant. 

He huffed out a laugh, leaning back against the boxes, fingers carding through his hair. He’d broken into a Cyberlife facility and stolen from them. He’d been afraid, for another android. And he had been shot at, and felt pain. Fear. 

Kaden realized then that he felt... grateful, to Ralph. If Ralph hadn’t found him yesterday, he likely would have self-destructed, the way his thoughts had been moving. 

Releasing a soft sigh, Kaden decided to enter rest mode as well, and allow his self-repair to work on whatever damage he may have missed with his systems.

Focusing the dwindling rainfall outside and the steady breathing of the android beside him, Kaden drifted off to sleep.


End file.
